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Thursday, August 11, 2011

Bunting Cards

I am a bit loath to call this a tutorial - it is more this is how I do it - for those who are interested.

These cards are a great way to use up all those tiny bits of fabric. I have a shopping bag full along side my sewing table and all the little trim bits which are too small for most things get popped in the bag. I then rummage through when I am looking for that little something for the inside of a bear's ear, applique or these cards.

For those poor people who don't have a stash of fabric (and I know there are a few out there) - don't worry I also have a paper alternative.

OK so here goes

I cut my pieces of fabric into small strips approximately 3/4's of an inch by 2 inches (or 2.5 cm by 3.75 cms). Don't worry about being exact, it doesn't matter.

I cut a piece of baker's twine twice the width of the card (you can do longer if you like, I will talk about this later).

Using a glue stick, put glue on the back of a fabric piece and then fold it over the baker's twine about 1/3rd of the way in from the end sticking the wrong sides of the fabric together. Repeat with each piece of fabric placing them on your baker's twine next to the last piece working towards the other end. You can reposition the pieces to where you like them while the glue is still tacky.

Now you can decide to leave your bunting rectangular in shape or you can take your scissors and make them into triangular shape - or even mix them up a bit. Just be careful not to cut into your baker's twine if you are cutting.

Now take your blank card and make a small cut using a crafting knife just in from each side at a level that you would like your bunting to hang.

Poke the baker's twine through the holes from the front to back on either side - I have used toothpicks, bamboo skewers, even a quick unpick to do this - just whatever you have handy and works for you.

Position the bunting so it is hanging the way you want it and tie the baker's twine at either side with a double knot. You can either decide to leave your card like that or you can snip the end of bakers twine and add another colour (or same colour) by threading it behind the other baker's twine and tie it in a bow to finish it off.

Alternatively you can use a longer piece of baker's twine and tie the ends together on the inside of the card after threading it through the holes you made in the card.

You can get a number of differnt looks depending on the fabric and card you use and how you cut your bunting.

Paper Version

In the paper version I used an old children's book and cut strips of paper and repeated the same process, BUT with the paper version I folded my paper and cut my triangular shape before sticking it onto the baker's twine.

Now before anybody tells me off for cutting up books I bought the book from the op-shop for $1 and the spine was broken - perfect for craft.

If you would like to give it a go there is bakers' twine in the store in a range of colours.

About Me

Welcome to my blog. I am a mother of two teenagers and married to my high school sweet heart. I love crafting, sewing and making things. I love baking but dislike cooking (Luckily Steven is the most amazing cook). I have been fortunate to set up and run Stitchbird, my shop and love being able to work with fabrics and lovely crafty and handmade things every day.
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